Posts Tagged ‘lunar eclipse’

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Total lunar eclipse on December 20 or 21, depending on time zone
As seen from North America, the waxing gibbous moon will shine midway between the head of the constellation Aries the Ram and the Pleiades star cluster tonight.
The Pleiades star cluster shines to the east of the moon. Can you see the small dipper-shaped Pleiades cluster tonight in the moon’s glare? If not, try binoculars.
The
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
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If you could look down on the solar system plane from outer space today, you would see that the sun, Earth and Jupiter form a 90-degree angle. Astronomers will say that Jupiter is at eastern quadrature – or 90 degrees east of the sun – today.
Geometric markers such as these, for planets and moons in our solar system, are more than just academic. They indicate where you can find these bodies in our sky
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
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The third-brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix, is often overlooked. Yet, Bellatrix is such a wonderful star.
According to Richard Hinckley Allen’s classic book Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, the Latin name Bellatrix means Female Warrior, which some find odd since the original Arabic title translates as the Conqueror. But women understand. Bellatrix represents Orion’s left shoulder. Although it
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
www.EarthSky.org
A total eclipse of the sun takes place today, but not in the United States. To see it – one of nature’s grandest spectacles – you must be located along today’s long yet narrow total eclipse path that stretches across the South Pacific.
Eclipse path for July 11, 2010 total solar eclipse
People ask when a total solar eclipse will be visible in the mainland United States. It won’t happen until August 21, 2017.
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Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
www.EarthSky.org
Pluto – the former planet – comes to opposition on June 25, at 19:00 Universal Time. That is when we on Earth pass more or less between the sun and Pluto, so that this distant world is now opposite the sun in our sky.
Of course, in Pluto’s case, it is not exactly opposite since the orbit of Pluto is inclined to the plane of the solar system by 17 degrees. That is a greater inclination than the orbits of Mercury,
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